New Rules NYC (#Wattys2015 Winner)

WHY TIKI DISCO IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA

CHAPTER 45: MASON

The honking of the Tiki bus horn outside our place straight up made me smile from ear to ear. Classic times from last year came flooding back and I felt like a little kid.

Tiki disco had been going for about three years. It was a no bullshit Sunday party held in venues all across Brooklyn. Everyone got loose. Zack, Jay and they crew were all over at mine, warming up with mimosas and telling stories about classic Tiki Disco hook ups from two years ago. The crew finished up their drinks while I grabbed my camera gear. I'd been asked to shoot the day by Eli and Andy, which was cool as I needed the cash. As the event had grown and spread, it had changed a little but it was still a kick ass Sunday. I thought about doing a black and white shoot but I figured the day was so much about the color vibe that some of the vibe would be lost.

The Tiki bus was half full, people already dancing to minimal techno tunes. I snapped a couple of shots as we rolled out to Bushwick. The driver, big smile, aviators. The bus, two girls dancing in the background, one looked like she had come straight from Burning Man, hightops and jean shorts with a metallic bikini - crazy steampunk sunglasses on. She was holding onto the side of the bus as she danced by herself, the two others she was with was sat and looked glazed out the window, they were likely still going from the night before, maybe even the night before that - it was summer after all. She swayed her shoulders back really far as she danced, it was hot, I tried to get it in a shot but couldn't do it justice.

Our friend Lara jumped up and inspired on the other dancers. I watched the eyes blow back into the brains of two old guys chilling, drinking beers outside a deli. We were pretty close to the curb and from their angle they just saw the mid sections of a couple of girls rocking out.

Lara was a real asset. A stunning Asian girl with a face that melted everyone she met, she wore a fringe and a nose ring and would be campaigning for summer all year, she always pushed to get us to everything. If they were sold out she would hustle it and sort us out. This was her in her element, you'd always see her dancing up the front of a show or backstage, usually with a bunch of dudes cuffing on her. She had on these kind of shiny blue short shorts that kept reminding me of Homer Simpson singing that song. 'Who wears short shorts'. I got a shot of her with her arms crossed, back to back with this taller girl in a Vision Street Wear tee.

When we rolled up to Tiki there was a line, Lara had a chat to the dude on the door and he ushered us in. It was around four so the party had only been going for an hour or so but the place was packed. Everyone knew to get here early. Waiting in line during the New York summer was deadly if not at least demoralizing. We walked through the crowd looking for a spot as a new Diplo tune came on, it was still all very composed, that would change in an hour or two

We took over a table towards the back, a couple of New Zealanders from the bus joining us. I thought back to many Tiki Disco's of the past, tables just like this one struggling to take the weight of a huge group dancing on top of them. I wiped at the sweat on my forehead and considered that I was way too sober.

I proposed Gin and Jucie all round, they offered money, which I declined it at first but then took anyway. Lara came along to help out, she considered herself a pro at catching bartenders' eyes, something that got creepy when she was wasted. We weaved our way to groups around the bar. The style was mostly Brooklyn street crossed with high fashion and seasoned with a pinch of retro LA and Hawaii surf. I still loved the LA flavor. A dude in a leopard skin top caught my eye, a huge blonde flat-top with Nike and the swoosh died into the back of his head. Flavor.

"So where you been hiding?" She asked. "I haven't seen you around for ages!"

"Whatever. I've been about. I played a little East & Low party a few weeks back, you should have come out."